(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, July 4, said there was a need to create a committee that would determine who owns the lands in Boracay.
Duterte made the statement in a speech during the 31st anniversary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Quezon City, after reiterating his plan to distribute the lands–which he said were forestal and agricultural in nature—to the natives.
“So there has to be a committee, to be fair to everybody, from the local government and then from the origins of any title there. Let us determine first who owns the place. If there is any title, and if it gets to be muddy to really dwell into it and question everything, well I leave it to the local governments to decide or to the congressman,” he said.
He said since the island was being proclaimed as a “crown jewel of our tourist destinations here, it is our moral obligation to make it clean…and safe.”
Boracay is currently undergoing a 6-month rehabilitation after Duterte called it a “cesspool.”
In earlier speeches, Duterte also urged Congress to determine which parts of Boracay would be commercial in nature.
